By Jacki Ragan

I don't need to remind you what is at stake come November 4. Sen. John McCain is as solidly pro-life as Sen. Barack Obama is firmly pro-abortion. Not to be forgotten is that it is critical that each and every pro-life citizen across the country do his or her part to help re-elect and elect pro-life members to Congress.

Make sure you and your pro-life community are up to speed. This Movement begins with you and without your enthusiastic participation we can do little. What we do, at NRLC, is to empower you to do your work on behalf of the babies in the most effective manner possible.

Listed below are some DOs and DON'Ts for chapter activities.

Make sure you (and your pro-life friends, relatives, and neighbors) are registered to vote. Contact your local or state election board to determine if there is still time and what is needed in order to register to vote. Please don't delay. If you do you may be ineligible to vote. Never, ever believe that your one vote won't make a difference!

Contact your state National Right to Life affiliate to see how you can best assist in the efforts it is planning this fall. If you do not have the number of your state affiliate, please contact the NRLC State Development Department and we can get it for you (202-626-8800, ext. 142). It is important to coordinate your activities with your state affiliate to maximize pro-life efforts. They are likely to have information that you lack. Working together always accomplishes more.

Write an article for your local pro-life newsletter or religious newspaper on how to obtain an absentee ballot for those who may be away on Election Day. Again, time is of the essence. There is always some date after which you are not eligible to cast an absentee ballot.

Volunteer your time and talents (as an individual, not as a chapter member!) in a local pro-life candidate's campaign (stuffing envelopes, ringing doorbells, raising money, assisting on position papers, staffing telephone banks, distributing yard signs and bumper stickers, etc.). There are countless things that need to be done.

Campaigns are chronically short on help. You can be that vitally important help. Also, encourage pro-life teens from your community to volunteer as well.

Lists of members of the chapter may not be given to a pro-life candidate for use in seeking support or raising funds. Lists are of value and thus cannot be given to a candidate except as a contribution by a state or federal political action committee (which itself has acquired ownership of the list) in accordance with the applicable state and federal laws. Contact your state right to life group if you have questions.

Use the "letters to the editor" section of your local newspaper to explain the importance of pro-life issues to the community.

As an individual, volunteer to assist your right to life political action committee in making local "get-out-the-vote" calls and distributing literature the weekend prior to the election. Since these calls ask the pro-lifer to vote for specific pro-life candidate(s), this activity must be done as individuals and not as your chapter.

Make sure that all pro-lifers in your community know their elected officials' stands on the abortion issue (which are determined through position papers, voting records, candidate questionnaires, etc.). If you do not have this information, contact your state office. This information can be distributed by your chapter and can also be distributed in pro-life church bulletins.

Also important are the activities that your group MAY NOT engage in as a chapter. As a chapter of your state NRLC affiliate, the chapter is probably recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(4) organization. In order to safeguard your chapter's non-profit status, please use great caution and participate only in those activities permissible for your chapter.

The chapter may not use its funds to expressly advocate the election or defeat of a candidate for local, state, or federal office. There are NO exceptions to this.

The chapter may not make a contribution (this includes financial or anything of value, such as lists, materials, etc.) to a candidate or campaign.

The chapter may not publish a political advertisement in its local RTL newsletter. Political advertisements must be purchased by a candidate or political action committee and carry a proper disclaimer. The chapter may publish the stands or positions of candidates but must avoid editorial comments encouraging citizens to VOTE PRO-LIFE in the same newsletter.

The chapter may not make a contribution to a political action committee.

And, finally, when in doubt ... either ask ... or don't do it! Your chapter is too important to the Right to Life Movement to risk it.

November 4, 2008, is just around the corner and there are still many things that can and must be done. Please be very careful to follow federal and state laws and regulations regarding what non- profit organizations can and cannot do in the political area.

Each of us has something to contribute to this fall's elections, we just have to make sure we do it in the appropriate and legal way. Make sure every pro-life citizen in your community is registered to vote, knows who the candidates are and what their positions are on abortion, and finally, make sure they all remember to vote on Tuesday, November 4. The lives of millions of unborn children are literally dependent on this election's outcome.

Good luck! See you at the polls.

Please send your comments to daveandrusko@hotmail.com.

Part One